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THE  MEASUREMENT  OF  MUSICAL  TALENT 

BY 
CARL  E.   SEASHORE 


Reprinted  from  "THE  MUSICAL  QUARTERLVr  January,  1915 


ML32  2>? 
3  35' 


Copyright,  1915,  by  G.  Schihmer 


THE  MEASUREMENT  OF  MUSICAL 
TALENT 

By  CARL  E.  SEASHORE 

The  Problem 

THE  psychology  of  music  is  now  being  built  up  in  the  labora- 
tory from   three  points   of  view,  namely:  the  psychology 
of  individual  talent,  the  psychology  of  aesthetic  feehng  in 
musical  appreciation  and  expression,  and  the  psychology  of  the 
pedagogy  of  music.    Our  subject  limits  this  discussion  to  the  first 
of  these  three  aspects. 

Musical  talent,  like  all  other  talent,  is  a  gift  of  nature — 
inherited,  not  acquired;  in  so  far  as  a  musician  has  natural  ability 
in  music,  he  has  been  born  with  it.  Perhaps  natural  ability  of  a 
high  order  is  not  so  very  rare,  for  modern  psychology  has  de- 
monstrated that  a  surprisingly  small  portion  of  our  talents  are 
allowed  to  develop  and  to  come  to  fruitage,  and  thus  has  given 
great  reinforcement  to  the  dictum  that  many  men  "die  with  all 
their  music  in  them."  From  the  point  of  view  of  measurement, 
the  latent  power  is  as  tangible  as  the  developed,  and  is  often  of 
greater  interest.  The  measurement  of  musical  capacity,  therefore, 
concerns  itself  chiefly  with  inborn  psycho-physic  and  mental 
capacities  as  distinguished  from  skill  acquired  in  training. 

In  1842  the  greatest  physiologist  of  that  time  declared  that 
it  would  forever  remain  impossible  to  measure  the  speed  of  the  nerve 
impulse;  yet,  within  two  years  of  that  time,  his  colleague  measured 
it  with  accuracy.  Up  to  that  time  it  had  been  supposed  that  the 
nerve  impulse  might  have  the  speed  of  an  electric  current;  but  the 
measurement  showed  that  it  takes  a  nerve  impulse  as  long  to  pass 
from  the  foot  to  the  brain  of  a  man  as  it  would  take  the  electric 
current  to  pass  half  way  around  the  globe.  About  the  same  time 
it  was  almost  universally  believed  that  "the  time  of  thought" 
could  not  be  measured;  but  the  "reaction-time  experiment"  did 
on  the  mental  side  what  the  measurement  of  the  nerve  impulse 
had  done  on  the  physical  side.  Talent,  like  the  dream,  has  been 
thought  of  as  peculiarly  illusive  and  intangible  for  observation. 
Yet  the  science  of  individual  psychology  to-day  virtually  "dissects" 


3G0340 


2  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

the  genius,  analyzes  and  measures  talents,  sets  out  limitations, 
diagnoses  the  possibilities,  and  directs  the  development  of  the  in- 
dividual. 

Musical  talent  is  not  one  thing.  To  amount  to  anything, 
there  must  be  a  hierarchy  of  talents,  sufficiently  related  to  work 
together.  Hierarchies  of  talents  may  present  entirely  different 
organizations  in  different  individuals.  The  analysis  of  musical 
talent  aims  first  to  locate  the  dominant  traits  and  then  to  deter- 
mine qualitatively  and  quantitatively  the  composition  or  charac- 
teristics of  each  group,  or  hierarchy  of  traits.  The  term  musical 
talent  is  therefore  used  in  a  collective  sense. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  make  a  fairly  exhaustive  classification 
of  the  essential  traits  of  musical  talent.  This  may  be  done  by 
considering,  first,  the  characteristics  of  sound  which  constitute 
music  and,  second,  the  mental  powers  which  are  needed  for  the 
appreciation  of  musical  sounds. 

The  elements  of  musical  sound  are  really  three,  namely: 
pitch,  time  and  intensity.  The  fourth  attribute  of  sound,  ex- 
tensity,  which  represents  the  spatial  character,  is  negligible  for 
the  present  purpose.  Pitch  is  the  quality,  the  essence  of  a  sound. 
Timbre,  usually  spoken  of  as  quality,  is  merely  a  pitch  complex. 
Consonance,  harmony,  and  clang  fusions  are  also  pitch-complexes. 
Rhythm  represents  aspects  of  time  and  intensity.  This  classifica- 
tion of  the  fundamental  aspects  of  musical  sounds  gives  us  a  basis 
for  the  classification  of  musical  talents  into  the  ability  to  apprec- 
iate and  the  ability  to  express  respectively,  pitch,  time,  and  in- 
tensity of  tone.  Each  of  these  may,  of  course,  be  subdivided  in 
great  detail. 

Turning  then  to  the  human  side  of  music,  we  find  that  the 
capacity  for  the  appreciation  and  expression  of  music  may  be 
divided,  for  convenience,  into  four  fundamental  capacities;  namely, 
sensory,  the  ability  to  hear  music;  motor,  the  ability  to  express 
music;  associational,  the  ability  to  understand  music;  and  affective, 
the  ability  to  feel  music  and  express  feeling  in  music.  By  com- 
bining these  two  classifications — the  elements  of  musical  sounds 
and  the  capacity  of  the  human  individual — we  shall  obtain  the 
principal  groups  of  musical  talent. 

Arranging  the  principal  measurements  now  available  in  the 
psychology  of  music  laboratory  on  the  above  bases  of  classification, 
we  get  a  scheme  like  the  accompanying  list  of  measurements  on 
a  singer.  Certain  modifications  of  this  list  would,  of  course,  be 
necessary  in  Section  II  to  adapt  it  to  other  performers,  such  as  the 
violinist  or  the  pianist. 


II. 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


List  of  Measurements  on  a  Singer 

Sensory  (ability  to  hear  music). 

A.  Pitch. 

1.  Discrimination  ("musical  ear;"  tonal  hearing). 

2.  Survey  of  register. 

3.  Tonal  range:  (a)  upper  limit,  (b)  lower  limit. 

4.  Timbre  (tone  color). 

5.  Consonance  and  dissonance  (harmony). 

B.  Intensity  (loudness). 

1.  Sensibility  (hearing-ability). 

2.  Discrimination  (capacity  for  intellectual  use). 


c. 

Time. 

1. 

Sense  of  time. 

2. 

Sense  of  rhythm. 

Motor  (ability  to  sing). 
A.     Pitch. 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 

Striking  a  tone. 
Varying  a  tone. 
Singing  intervals. 
Sustaining  a  tone. 
Registers. 

Timbre:  (a)  purity,  (b)  richness,  (c)  mellowness,  (d)  clear- 
ness, (e)  flexibility. 
Plasticity :  curves  of  learning. 

B.  Intensity. 

1.  Natural  strength  and  volume  of  voice. 

2.  Voluntary  control. 

C.  Time. 

1.  Motor  ability. 

2.  Transition  and  attack. 

3.  Singing  in  time. 

4.  Singing  in  rhythm. 

III.     Associational  (ability  to  imagine,  remember  and  think  in  music). 

A.  Imagery. 

1.  Type. 

2.  R61e  of  auditory  and  motor  images. 

B.  Memory. 

1.  Memory  span. 

2.  Retention. 

3.  Redintegration. 

C.  Ideation. 

1.  Association  type  and  musical  content. 

2.  Musical  grasp. 

3.  Creative  imagination. 

4.  Plasticity :  curves  of  learning. 


4  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

IV.     Aflfective  (ability  to  feel  music). 

A.  Likes  and  dislikes:  character  of  musical  appeal. 

1.  Pitch,  timbre,  melody  and  harmony. 

2.  Intensity  and  volume. 

3.  Time  and  rhythm. 

B.  Emotional  reaction  to  music. 

C.  Power  of  aesthetic  interpretation  in  singing. 

The  writer  has  outlined  elsewhere  (Psychology  in  Daily  Life,  D. 
Appelton  Co.,  1913,  Ch.  VII.)  how  each  of  the  measurements  in  this 
list  may  be  performed. 


An  Example  of  a  Measurement 

To  illustrate  the  method  of  proceedure  in  measurements  of 
this  kind  as  briefly  and  accurately  as  possible,  we  may  consider 
one,  as  an  example,  in  some  detail.  The  first  in  the  list  (lAl) 
may  serve  this  purpose. 


The  first  rule  of  experimental  psychology  is  to  reduce  the 
problem  so  that  there  shall  be  only  one  variable  and  all  other 
factors  shall  be  kept  under  relative  control.     The  variable  must 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent  5 

be  measurable,  repeatable,  and  describable.  In  this  test  we  want 
to  vary  and  measure  pitch.  Time,  timbre,  intensity,  se- 
quence-complexes and  all  other  factors  of  tone  must  therefore  be 
kept  relatively  constant  or  uniform;  and  all  conditions  must  be 
kept  as  simple  as  possible.  The  task  is  merely  to  hear  which  of 
two  tones,  sounded  in  rapid  succession,  is  the  higher. 

This  test  must  be  made  so  simple  and  elemental  that  it  shall 
be  equally  feasible  for  young  and  old,  for  musical  and  for  un- 
musical. It  has  proved  no  small  undertaking  to  devise,  test,  and 
standardize,  apparatus  and  methods  which  shall  make  these  con- 
ditions possible.  A  full  account  of  the  standardization  of  this 
test  has  been  published  by  the  present  writer.^ 


Fig.  2 

The  apparatus  consists  of  a  set  of  tuning  forks.  Fig  1,  a 
resonator,  Fig.  2,  and  a  rubber  covered  lead  rod  to  strike  the 
forks  upon.  The  standard  fork,  which  is  duplicated,  has  a  pitch 
of  435  vibrations,  a',  international  pitch.  The  remaining  forks 
are  tuned  higher  than  this  by  small  increments,  as  follows: — 
Yl,  1,  2,  3,  5,  8,  12,  17,  23,  and  30  vibrations,  respectively.  The 
resonator  is  mounted  in  a  convenient  position.  The  forks  are 
sounded  by  striking  gently  upon  the  rod  and  holding  before  the 
resonator.  So  long  as  a  fork  is  merely  held  in  the  hand  it  cannot 
be  heard;  but  the  moment  it  is  presented  before  the  mouth  of  the 
resonator,  it  speaks  the  tone  loud  and  pure.  The  loudness  and  the 
duration  of  the  tone  are  regulated  by  the  position  and  the  time 
before  the  resonator. 

The  standard  and  one  other  fork  are  sounded  in  rapid  suc- 
cession and  the  observer,  who  is  blind-folded,  is  required  to  say 
whether  the  second  tone  is  higher  or  lower  than  the  first.  A  pre- 
liminary test  is  made  in  which  we  begin  with  the  largest  interval, 
30  vibrations,  and  then  take  successively  the  remaining  intervals 

1  Psychol.  Rev.  Monog.  (Princeton,  N.  J.)  No.  38,  pp.  30-60. 


6  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

in  the  order  of  decreasing  magnitude.  Repeating  this  a  few  times, 
we  soon  get  an  approximate  indication  of  the  measure;  e.  g.,  on  the 
average,  the  observer  gets  all  right  down  to  a  difference  of  5 
vibrations.  This  limit  is  called  the  threshold.  This  approximate 
threshold  being  found,  we  then  take  a  large  number  of  trials,  one 
hundred  to  five  hundred,  on  a  single  interval — that  one  for  which 
the  observer,  according  to  the  preliminary  test,  is  most  likely 
to  get  75  per  cent,  right  judgments.  Having  found  what  per  cent. 
of  judgments  actually  are  right  in  the  test  we  convert  that  by 
applying  a  formula  which  gives  the  magnitude  of  the  interval  that 
will  yield  75  per  cent,  right  judgments.  Thus,  supposing  that  in 
five  hundred  trials  on  3  vibrations  we  get  78  per  cent,  right  judg- 
ments, computation  shows  that  it  would  take  a  difference  of  2.6 
vibrations  to  yield  the  required  75  per  cent,  of  right  cases  with  this 
ability;  2.6  vibrations  would  therefore  be  the  threshold  of  pitch 
discrimination  in  this  case. 

This  measure  may  be  converted  into  "part  of  tone"  by  re- 
cognizing that  in  this  interval  a'-b'  one  vibration  equals  one 
fifty-fourth  of  a  tone;  2.6  vibrations  therefore  equal  about  one- 
twentieth  of  a  tone.  The  equivalent  of  vibration-differences  in 
terms  of  whole-tone  differences  may  be  represented  as  follows : 


Vibrations 
Part  of  tone 

1/4 
1/216 

1/2 
1/108 

1 

1/54 

2               3 
1/27          1/18 

5 
1/11 

Vibrations 
Part  of  tone 

8 

1/8 

12 

1/5 

17 

1/3 

23 

1/2- 

30 

1/2  + 

To  illustrate  further  the  procedure  in  the  interpretation  and 
the  application  of  records  of  this  kind,  let  us  consider  in  turn  the 
specific  conditions  which  bear  upon  the  interpretation  of  this 
record.  In  doing  this  we  must  keep  foremost  in  mind  the  first 
rule  of  interpretation  in  applied  psychology,  namely,  that  the 
interpretation  shall  be  limited  to  the  bearing,  direct  or  indirect, 
of  the  factor  under  control,  ^,  e.,  the  factor  measured.  Here  we 
have  measured  pitch  discrimination,  one  out  of  a  hundred  or  more 
measurable  factors  in  musical  capacity,  one  of  the  many  elements 
in  "the  sense  of  pitch."  We  must  search  diligently  into  the  re- 
liability, the  qualifications,  the  meaning,  the  ramifications,  and 
the  practical  significance  of  this  measure.  But  we  cannot  general- 
ize in  regard  to  musical  capacity  as  a  whole  on  the  basis  of  this 
measure  alone,  except  as  such  general  capacity  is  modified  by  the 
limitations  in  the  capacity  measured. 

Individual  Differences.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation 
that  individuals  differ  in  their  sense  of  pitch.    In  pitch  discrimin- 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


ation,  stripped  of  all  vagueness  and  confusion,  we  have  a  quanti- 
tative measure  of  the  magnitude  of  this  one  factor,  and  can  get  a 
clear-cut  picture  of  the  distribution  of  individual  differences  in 
this  specific  capacity. 


11% 


3%    5% 


30  + 


Fig.  3  shows  the  normal  distribution  for  university  students 
in  a  frequency  curve  which  is  based  on  twelve  hundred  cases. 
The  numbers  at  the  bottom  designate  the  conventional  series 
of  steps  in  terms  of  vibrations,  from  1/4  to  30.  The  figures  on 
the  curve  give  the  per  cent,  of  cases  whose  threshold  of  pitch  dis- 
crimination falls  at  each  of  the  levels  designated  by  the  steps. 
Thus,  1  per  cent,  can  hear  a  difference  of  1/4  vibration; 4  percent, 
can  hear  a  difference  of  1/2  vibration;  12  per  cent,  can  hear  a 
difference  of  1  vibration,  etc.  The  mode,  the  most  frequent 
record,  is  at  2  vibrations.  The  best  measurement  is  1/4  vibration, 
and  all  but  3  per  cent,  can  hear  a  half-tone.  The  average  is  2 . 5 
vibrations. 

A  Norm.  This  curve  of  distribution,  being  based  upon  a 
sufficiently  large  number  of  representative  cases,  may  be  regarded 
as  a  norm  in  terms  of  which  individual  and  isolated  records  may  be 
interpreted.  For  example,  if  a  child  is  measured  and  gives  a  record 
of  .  8  vibration,  it  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  this  norm,  that  this 
child  finds  a  place  among  the  best,  i.  e,,  in  a  small  group  of  8  per 
cent,  at  the  head.  If  his  record  were  2 . 6  per  cent,  this  is  found  to  be 
near  the  average  ear;  whereas,  if  the  record  were  15  vibrations, 
it  would  be  decidedly  among  the  inferior.  Such  a  norm  is  then  a 
standard  by  which  we  may  evaluate  our  individual  tonal  hearing 
just  as  we  judge  our  height  or  weight  in  terms  of  the  published 
anthropometric  charts.     Indeed  the  curve  is  quite  similar  to  a 


8  The  JMeasurement  of  Musical  Talent 

height  curve  in  that  the  cases  tend  to  bunch  about  the  middle 
and  the  number  of  cases  diminishes  rapidly  toward  both  extremes. 
It  differs,  however,  from  the  height  curve  in  that  the  units  at  the 
bottom  are  not  equal  but  form  approximately  a  geometric  series  of 
the  second  order.    The  distribution  is  therefore  said  to  be  skew. 

Cognitive  v.s.  Physiological  Limit.  It  is  clear  that  the  threshold 
as  defined  above,  is  an  arbitrary  standard;  and  we  may  fairly  ask 
if  it  represents  a  mental  or  a  physiological  limit.  It  is  convenient 
to  distinguish  between  the  cognitive  threshold  and  the  physiologi- 
cal threshold.  The  cognitive  threshold  is  a  limit  which  is  due  to 
cognitive  difiiculties  such  as  ignorance,  misunderstanding,  in- 
attention, lack  of  application,  confusion,  objective  or  subjective 
disturbances,  misleading  thought,  inhibitions  in  recording,  etc. 
The  physiological  threshold  is  that  limit  which  is  set  by  the  charac- 
ter of  the  physical  structure  of  the  pitch-differentiating  apparatus 
in  the  organ  of  Corti  in  the  inner  ear.  A  cognitive  threshold  is 
really  no  measure  at  all;  it  is  merely  an  indication  of  the  fact. that 
the  conditions  are  not  under  control  and  serves  as  a  means  of 
discovering  sources  of  error.  A  flawless  measurement  should  give 
the  physiological  threshold;  but  that,  like  all  other  forms  of  per- 
fection, is  scarcely  attainable.  We  therefore  content  ourselves 
with  a  "proximate  physiological"  threshold.  This  is  what  Fig.  3. 
represents,  and  it  is  the  concept  we  must  employ  in  most  practical 
work.  The  three  chief  factors  which  account  for  the  difference 
between  the  physiological  and  the  proximate  physiological 
threshold  are, — the  convention  of  counting  75  per  cent,  of  right 
cases,  which  is  based  on  the  theory  of  probability;  the  physiological 
variation  in  the  organ  of  Corti  with  varying  body  tone;  and  the 
failure  to  eliminate  disturbances  in  the  test.  It  is  therefore  safe 
to  say  that  the  actual  psycho-physical  limit  is  always  somewhat 
lower  than  the  conventional  threshold. 

Reliability  and  Success.  Since  the  record  is  of  diagnostic 
value  only  when  it  represents  approximately  the  bed  rock  of 
capacity,  it  is  important  to  have  means  of  determining  when  and 
to  what  extent  this  is  reached.  In  the  first  place,  we  can  never 
get  a  record  that  is  too  good,  i.  e.,  below  the  physiological  threshold. 
An  error  is  always  in  the  direction  of  a  cognitive  threshold  which 
must  be  reduced.  In  the  actual  test  the  experimenter  may  observe 
sources  of  error  such  as  objective  disturbances,  his  own  lack  of 
skill,  or  the  subjective  difficulties  reported  by  the  observer.  He 
must  then  labor  to  eliminate  them.  But,  in  the  last  resort,  the 
record  itself  contains  internal  evidence  in  the  character  of  the 


I 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent  9 

distribution  of  the  errors  by  which  the  expert  may  know  whether 
or  not  he  has  reached  the  desired  limit. 

Ordinarily,  under  favorable  conditions,  the  desired  threshold 
may  be  established  in  a  single  sitting  of  less  than  an  hour  in  an 
individual  test.  If  a  task  is  not  satisfactory  in  the  first  sitting,  it 
must  be  repeated  until  it  complies  with  the  required  criteria  of 
reliability.  Occasionally  we  find  a  resistant  case  which  may  leave 
us  in  doubt  after  many  trials,  but  in  individual  work,  95  per  cent, 
of  the  cases  should  be  disposed  of  in  less  than  two  hours  of  intensive 
measurement. 

The  above  norm  is  based  upon  the  measurement  obtained  in 
the  second  hour  of  a  group  test,  which  is  about  equivalent  to 
an  individual  test.  It  therefore  contains  cases  that  are  further 
reducible.  A  final-test  norm  would  show  a  considerable  improve- 
ment in  some  of  the  records. 

Illusions  of  Pitch.  One  very  interesting  and  baffling  feature 
which  is  encountered  in  this  test  is  the  illusion  of  pitch.  Many  of 
these  illusions  have  beenidentified, isolated,  measured,  andexpressed 
in  terms  of  mental  law.  Among  these  is  the  illusion  of  anticipation, 
or  expectant  attention.  If  one  consciously  or  unconsciously  anti- 
cipates that  the  second  of  two  tones  in  a  small  interval  is  to  be  the 
higher  and  it  really  is  the  higher,  the  difference  will  seem  greater 
than  it  really  is;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  really  lower,  there 
are  two  possibilities:  if  it  is  relatively  little  lower,  it  will  still  be 
heard  as  higher,  whereas,  if  it  is  distinctly  lower,  it  will  be  heard  as 
lower  and  the  interval  will  be  overestimated.  Similar  to  this  are 
the  illusions  due  to  the  differences  in  the  intensity,  the  timbre,  the 
pitch  level,  the  location,  etc.,  of  the  tones.  All  such  errors  must  be 
eliminated.  It  would  be  no  test  at  all  merely  to  ask  the  observer 
if  he  heard  a  difference,  as  the  early  experimenters  did ;  he  must 
be  required  also  to  give  the  direction.  By  virtue  of  the  illusions 
we  often  tend  to  hear  two  tones  of  the  same  pitch  as  different  and 
sometimes  feel  a  higher  degree  of  certainty  in  a  judgment  which ' 
is  wrong. 

Absolute  Pitch.  We  hear  much  about  the  possession  of 
"absolute  pitch."  It  would  perhaps,  be  facetious  to  say  that  some 
persons  come  into  my  laboratory  at  the  State  University  of  Iowa 
with  absolute  pitch,  but  no  one  has  yet  been  known  to  leave 
with  it,  which  is  the  truth.  Some  musicians  can  of  course 
identify  any  key  sounded  on  the  piano  in  isolation;  but  the  claims 
of  absolute  pitch  go  beyond  that,  as  e.  g.,  when  the  violinist  says 


10  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

that  the  violin  string  sounded  by  itself  first  thing  in  the  morning 
is  one  vibration  below  international  pitch.  Often,  indeed,  he  can 
tell  this,  not  by  absolute  pitch,  but  by  memory  of  conditions 
of  tuning,  by  difiFerence  in  timbre,  and  by  a  happy  guess,  etc. 
In  this  way  many  musicians  cultivate  fixed  illusions  of  absolute 
pitch.  The  claims  about  absolute  pitch  when  referring  to  such 
small  differences,  exist  only  so  long  as  they  are  not  checked  by 
actual  measurement. 

To  measure  absolute  pitch,  let  the  experiment  run  for  some 
months,  devoting  a  minute  or  two  to  the  test  each  day,  in  the 
morning  before  any  other  musical  sounds  are  heard,  as  follows: — 
Use  the  above  set  of  forks.  Fig.  1,  with  the  resonator  producing 
pure  tones.  Sound  the  standard  on  the  first  day  until  it  is  thoroughly 
familiar.  On  the  second  day  sound  one  fork — either  the  standard 
or  a  differential  fork — and  require  the  observer  to  say  whether  this 
tone  is  standard  or  a  higher  tone.  Then  sound  the  standard  in 
preparation  for  the  next  day.  Repeat  this  procedure  on  successive 
days  until  each  of  the  differential  forks  has  been  sounded  at  least 
ten  times.  The  record  will  then  show  what  is  the  smallest  pitch 
difference  that  can  be  heard  without  error  when  the  compared 
tones  are  a  day  apart. 

We  are  here  concerned  with  the  relative  pitch.  It  is  common 
that  a  violinist  may  have  a  pitch  discrimination  of  1/2  vibration 
but  it  would  be  an  extraordinary  and  improbable  case  that  he 
should  have  an  absolute  pitch  to  the  extent  of  5  vibrations,  or 
one-t^nth  as  good  as  the  relative  pitch  hearing. 

Tone-Deafness.  It  is  likewise  generally  supposed  that  tone 
deafness  is  a  common  occurence.  There  is  of  course  a  great  variety 
of  cases  of  tone  deafness  on  record  in  clinical  otology  and  aphasia. 
There  are  many  possible  causes,  both  in  physical  and  mental  path- 
ology. From  the  point  of  view  of  the  "normal"  community,  it  is  of 
interest  to  note  that  Smith  (Psychol.  Rev.  Monog.  (Princeton, 
N.  J.)  No.  69,  pp.  69-103)  in  measuring  1980  school  children, 
taking  every  child  in  a  given  room  without  exception,  did  not 
find  a  single  case  of  tone  deafness.  Many  cases  were  resistive; 
but,  through  his  skill  and  ingenuity,  he  was  able  to  show  that 
in  this  entire  number  there  was  no  one  who  could  not  hear  as  small 
difference  as  a  whole  tone.  Tone-ignorance  is  sometimes  appalling, 
but  we  must  distinguish  between  that  and  tone  deafness.  Tak- 
ing this  fact  with  the  above  observations  on  absolute  pitch,  we 
find  that  common  opinion  is  extravagant,  both  in  ascribing 
achievement  and  in  denying  capacities. 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


11 


Practice.  As  a  result  of  an  extensive  study  of  the  effect  of 
practice  on  4G7  school  children  and  54  university  students,  Smith 
{op.  cit.)  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions: 

The  sensitiveness  of  the  ear  to  pitch  difference  can  not  be  improved 
appreciably  by  practice.  There  is  no  evidence  of  any  improvement  in 
sensitiveness  to  pitch  as  a  result  of  practice.  When  a  person  shows  a 
cognitive  threshold  practice  ordinarily  results  in  a  clearing  up  of  the 
difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way  of  a  true  measure  of  discrimination,  by 
information,  observations,  a  development  of  interest,  isolation  of  the 
problems  in  hand,  and  more  consistent  application  to  the  task  in  hand. 
This  is,  of  course,  not  improvement  in  the  psycho-physic  ear  but  merely 
a  preliminary  to  a  fair  determination  of  the  psycho-physic  limit. 

Training  in  pitch  discrimination  is  not  like  the  acquisition  of 
skill,  as  in  learning  to  read  or  to  hear  overtones.  It  is  in  the  last  analysis 
informational  and  the  improvement  is  immediate  in  proportion  to  the 
effectiveness  of  the  instructions  or  the  ingenuity  of  the  observer  and  the 
experimenter  in  isolating  the  difficulty. 

In  this  respect  the  limit  of  pitch  hearing  is  like  the  limit  of 
acuity  of  vision.  As  training  in  the  use  of  the  eye  does  not  improve 
the  dioptric  system  of  the  eye  so  that  one  may  see  finer  print  or 
greater  distance;  so  practice  does  not  modify  the  actual  structure 
of  the  organ  of  Corti  in  the  ear  so  as  to  make  it  more  responsive 
to  pitch,  except  in  the  sense  that  a  violin  may  be  improved  by  use. 
But,  as  the  ability  to  give  meaning  to  what  is  seen — the  ability 
to  use  the*  eye  to  its  limit — is  amenable  to  training  and  finds  its 
limits  of  development  only  in  the  limits  of  the  grasp  of  memory, 
imagination,  thought,  feeling,  and  will;  so  the  meaning  of  pitch, 
in  all  its  intricate  operations,  is  capable  of  refinement  through 
training,  and  passes  gradually  from  a  simple  sensory  impression, 
in  one  direction,  into  fixed  automatisms  and,  in  the  other  direction, 
into  conscious  analysis  and  synthesis. 


Fig.  4 


12  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

Age,  The  actual  psycho-physic  capacity  for  pitch  discrim- 
ination does  not  improve  with  age,  i.  e.,  with  general  mental 
growth.  Some  children  are  ignorant,  obstinate,  and  helpless  in  a 
test  of  this  kind.  This  is  likely  to  fall  off  with  age  in  childhood. 
Fig.  4.,  shows  the  distribution  of  records  in  a  single  group  test  in 
each  of  three  ages.  The  records  of  the  younger  children  are  slightly 
inferior  to  those  of  the  older,  but  this  is  amply  accounted  for  by 
the  presence  of  conditions  for  observation  among  the  younger 
children,  which  are  ordinarily  overcome  as  experience  grows  with 
age.  These  conditions  are,  however,  merely  disturbances  in  the 
measurement;  they  would  not  ordinarily  operate  in  the  child's 
hearing  of  music.  We  often  find  the  finest  record  in  children  of 
five  to  ten  years  of  age,  who  have  had  no  musical  training  what- 
ever. Three  out  of  four  of  the  writer's  children  equalled  the  record 
of  their  father's  ability,  which  is  good,  each  one  before  the  age  of 
five  and  without  any  musical  training.  Reliable  measurement 
may  be  made  upon  children  as  early  as  three  to  four  years  of  age, 
depending  upon  the  natural  brightness  of  the  child.  If  we  measure 
a  hundred  children,  intellectually  at  an  age  capable  of  observation, 
and  measure  also  the  mothers  of  these  children,  it  is  probable  that 
the  records  of  the  children,  will  average  as  high  as  the  records  of 
their  mothers.  Aside  from  selection,  the  same  principle  would 
apply  to  teachers  and  their  pupils. 

Sex.  The  capacity  for  pitch  discrimination  does  not  vary 
appreciably  with  sex.  Records  of  school  girls  are  ordinarily 
superior  to  the  records  of  school  boys,  but  this  is  due  to  the  com- 
mon aloofness  of  the  preadolescent  boy  toward  music.  The  boys 
in  the  American  schools  investigated,  often  regard  music  as  a  frill 
for  girls  and  therefore  do  not  enter  the  test  with  the  same  zeal  and 
fervor  as  do  the  girls.  It  is  significant  that  this  difference  in  favor 
of  girls  disappears  at  the  university  age  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  there  is  still  more  interest  in  music  among  young  women  and 
they  have,  on  the  whole,  had  more  advantages  of  musical  training 
than  the  university  men. 

Elemental  nature  of  the  Test.  This  test  is  elemental  in  the 
sense  that,  when  applied  under  favorable  conditions,  it  calls  forth 
a  relatively  simple  and  immediate  sensory  act  which  is  so  single 
and  isolated  that  the  performance  of  it  does  not  improve  with 
practice.  This  was  a  goal  in  the  designing  of  the  test  and  the  ex- 
tent to  which  it  is  successful  has  been  discussed  under  the  head  of 
practice.  In  so  far  as  we  deal  with  a  cognitive  threshold,  this 
test  is  not  elemental;  it  becomes  elemental  only  as  we  approach  the 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent  13 

physiological  threshold.  In  its  elemental  nature  this  test  contrasts 
with  complex  processes  in  musical  hearing,  such  as  the  hearing  of 
overtones,  the  analysis  of  chords,  judgment  of  timbre,  all  of  which 
require  training. 

Basal  Nature  of  the  Test.  This  test  is  basal  in  the  sense  that 
many  other  aspects  of  musical  capacity  rest  upon  the  capacity  here 
measured.  Thus,  tonal  memory,  tonal  imagery,  the  perception  of 
timbre,  singing  and  playing  in  true  pitch;  and  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  perception  of  harmony,  and  the  objective  response  are  limited 
by  any  limitation  that  may  be  set  in  pitch  discrimination.  If  the 
pitch  discrimination  is  poor,  we  can  predict,  at  least,  a  correspond- 
ing inferiority  in  the  derived  factors.  On  the  other  hand,  ex- 
cellence of  pitch  discrimination  does  not  necessarily  insure  ex- 
cellence in  these  factors,  since  it  is  only  one  element  in  them.  There 
are  six  such  basal  measurements — three  sensory  and  three  motor; 
one  on  pitch,  one  on  intensity,  and  one  on  time,  for  the  sensory 
side  and  for  the  motor  side  respectively. 

Theory.  No  physiological  theory  of  pitch  discrimination  is 
fully  established.  We  know  that  the  pitch  differentiating  mech- 
anism is  located  in  the  organ  of  Corti  in  the  inner  ear  and  that  it 
works  on  mechanical  principles  in  the  selection  of  vibrations  which 
determine  pitch.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  ordinarily  variations  in 
capacity  for  pitch  discrimination  are  due  to  variations  in  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  selecting  mechanism.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
this  should  vary  in  individuals  just  as  height  and  color  vary  within 
large  limits. 

Intelligence.  The  test  of  pitch  discrimination  is  not  an  in- 
telligence test.  A  person  may  be  a  philosopher,  a  mathematician 
or  an  inventor,  and  yet  have  *'no  ear  for  music."  Preliminary 
tests  as  a  rule,  show  that  the  brighter  persons  on  the  whole  tend  to 
make  a  better  record,  but  this  is  because  all  the  "good  observers" 
are  able  to  give  a  reliable  test  in  the  first  trial  whereas  the  dull,  the 
careless,  and  the  backward  blunder  at  first  and  give  only  a  cognitive 
test,  which  must  be  further  reduced  before  it  can  be  accepted. 

Inheritance.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  musical  talent  may 
be  inherited,  but  there  are  no  reliable  statistical  data  on  the  subject, 
although  there  is  much  biographical  material.  The  first  condi- 
tion for  statistics  is  that  the  facts  under  consideration  shall  be 
identified  and  measured.  This  we  have  only  recently  learned  to 
accomplish.  The  fact  that  Smith  {op.  cit.)  when  comparing  the 
records  of  children  in  the  same  family  with  children  in  different 


14 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


families,  in  a  group  of  1980  children,  found  no  tendency  for  records 
within  a  family  to  agree  more  closely  than  records  among  unre- 
lated families,  should  sound  a  warning  and  incite  cautiousness  in 
the  accepting  of  biographical  material  in  naive  form.  It  shows  the 
necessity,  as  well  as  the  possibility,  of  including  specific  measures 
in  extensive  studies  of  inheritance. 

Tonal  Range.  This  measure  was  taken  at  435  vibrations 
because  that  is  approximately  in  the  middle,  the  most  stable,  the 
most  used  and  the  most  sensitive  part  of  the  tonal  range.  Sounds 
may  give  the  character  of  tonality  to  the  human  ear  as  low  down  as 
12  vibrations  and  possibly  as  high  as  50000  vibrations,  although 
the  upper  limit  varies  greatly  with  individuals.  But  pitch  dis- 
crimination is  defective  near  both  these  ends.  It  does  not  vary 
uniformly  throughout  as  the  constant  part  of  a  tone,  e.  g.,  1/50  of 
a  tone,  nor  with  the  absolute  vibration  frequency,  e.  g.,  1  vibration 
at  all  levels  of  pitch;  it  is  a  sort  of  irregular  combination  between 
these  two  tendencies,  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  5  by  Vance  (Psychol. 
Rev.  Monog.  No.  69,  pp.  115-149).  Since  this  curve  is  a  fair 
representation  for  all  normal  persons,  a  measure  at  one  level, 
such  as  we  have  here  at  435  vibrations,  gives  also  a  serviceable 
knowledge  of  the  relative  sensitiveness  at  other  levels. 


2.04a 


Evaluation.  Fourteen  years  ago  the  writer  proposed  the 
following  tentative  evaluation  for  the  purpose  of  vocational  guid- 
ance (Ed.  Rev.  Vol.  XXII,  pp.  69,82.);  and,  in  the  extensive  use 
of  the  test  since  then,  he  has  seen  no  serious  reason  for  changing  it: 

Below  3  vd.;     May  become  a  musician; 

3-8  vd.:     Should  have  a  plain  musical  education  (singing  in 
school  may  be  obligatory); 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


15 


9-17  vd. 


18  and  above: 


Should  have  a  plain  education  in  music  only  if  special 
inclination  for  some  kind  of  music  is  shown  (sing- 
ing in  school  should  be  optional) ; 

Should  have  nothing  to  do  with  music. 


This  account  of  procedure  in  one  of  the  numerous  tests  under 
consideration  is  perhaps  sufficiently  generic  to  serve  as  a  general 
illustration  of  measurements  in  musical  capacity,  in  particular 
those  included  in  the  above  list.  Each  test  presents  an  individual 
problem,  often  requires  its  own  peculiar  apparatus  and  technique, 
results  in  its  own  norms  and  its  own  laws  of  behavior  for  the  factor 
under  control,  and  requires  its  own  interpretation.  Each  problem 
having  been  dealt  with  in  isolation,  the  next  step  is  to  collate  the 
results  and  interpret  each  one  in  the  light  of  every  other  record  of 
talent. 


The  Talent  Chart 

For  the  purpose  of  illustration  we  may  now  assume  that  each 
of  the  tests  listed  above  have  been  made  and  evaluated  in  the 
spirit  and  on  the  plan  of  the  given  example.  How  shall  we  theij 
bring  such  a  mass  of  material  into  a  single  picture,  into  graspable 
form  and  relief.? 

The  first  step  is  to  reduce  all  numerical  records  to  a  sort  of 
common  denominator.  This  may  be  done  by  what  we  may  call  the 
method  of  percental  rank.  In  one  case  the  record  may  be  in  terms 
of  vibration,  in  another  in  terms  of  time,  in  another  in  terms  of 
number  of  successes,  etc.  A  direct  comparison  of  values  would 
be  bewildering  for  want  of  a  common  unit;  but  the  method  of 
percental  rank  furnishes  such  a  unit. 

When  a  norm  like  Fig.  3.,  has  been  established  on  adequate 
data,  we  may  transform  the  data  on  which  that  norm  is  based  into 
percental  rank  values.  For  the  sake  of  simplicity,  let  us  assume 
that  the  data  represent  only  one  hundred  cases.  In  this  method 
we  would  rank  the  best  100  per  cent,  the  poorest  1  per  cent,  and 
the  remaining  ninety-eight  between  these  limits  in  the  order  of 
magnitude  of  the  record.  From  the  data  back  of  Fig.  3.,  we  may 
then  construct  a  table  which  gives  the  percental  rank  value  of  each 
of  the  units  employed,  as  follows: 


%  rank 

vibrations 

%  rank 

vibrations 

100 

— 

.25 

50 

— 

2.5 

95 

— 

.5 

45 

— 

2.8 

90 

— 

.7 

40 

— 

3.1 

85 

— 

.9 

35 

— 

3.5 

16  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


%  rank 

vibrations 

%rank 

vibrations 

80 

— 

1.1 

30 

— 

4.6 

75 

— 

1.3 

25 

— 

5.2 

70 

— 

1.6 

20 

— 

7.1 

65 

— 

1.8 

15 

— 

9.1 

60 

— 

2.0 

10 

— 

12.0 

55 

— 

2.2 

5 

— 

18.5 

For  each  and  all  measurements  in  the  above  list  on  which  we 
have  sufficient  data,  those  data  may  be  set  out  in  a  table  of  per- 
cental ranks  like  this.  The  advantage  is  clear.  If,  e.  g.,  a  pupil 
stands  92  per  cent,  in  pitch  discrimination,  18  per  cent,  in  the  sense 
of  rhythm,  72  per  cent,  in  auditory  imagery,  etc.,  the  meaning  is 
perfectly  definite  and  clear  at  a  glance;  all  records  are  presented  in 
terms  of  the  same  unit,  percental  rank. 

We  may  go  one  step  further  and  picture  the  results  of  all 
measurements  in  a  single  graph  or  curve,  which  shall  show  a 
sort  of  profile  of  features,  a  single  sketch  of  a  persons'  musical 
talent  at  a  glance,  when  familiar  with  the  plan.  Six  such  charts  are 
shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration. 

These  charts  are  made  to  cover  only  those  measurements  on 
which  we  have  adequate  norms  at  the  present  time.  The  initials 
with  numbers  in  parenthesis  refer  to  the  tests  in  the  lists  as  follows : 

T.  H.  (lAl)  Tonal  hearing,   or  pitch  discrimination  as   described 

above. 
T.  I.   (IIIAl)       Tonal  imagery;  the  ability  to  hear  in  imagination. 
T.  M.   (IIIBl)     Tonal  memory;  the  span  of  immediate  memory  for  tones. 

C.  (IA5)  Consonance;   the   ability   to   distinguish    consonances 

from  dissonances. 
T.  S.  (ICl)  Time  sense;   the   ability   to  hear  with   accuracy   the 

duration  of  short  time-intervals. 
F.  R.   (IIC4)        Free  rhythm;  the  abihty  to  mark  a  free  rhythm. 
R.  R.   (IIC4)        Regulated  rhythm;  the  ability  to  follow  a  set  rhythm. 
S.  S.   (IBl)  Sensitiveness  to  sound;  "hearing-ability." 

D.  I.   (IB2)  Discrimination  for  the  intensity  of  sound. 
S.  T.  (IIAl)         Singing  a  tone  in  true  pitch. 

V.  T.  Vocal  training  1  ,         ,  .         .. 

I.  T.  Instrumental  training     based  on  a  systematic 

M.  A.  Musical   appreciation  J      questionnaire. 

When  the  plan  of  these  charts  is  once  familiar  and  the  measure- 
ments are  known,  these  graphs  form  striking  pictures  which  convey 
to  us  an  immediate  representation  of  the  features  of  musical  traits 
or  capacities  quite  as  naturally  as  a  photograph  conveys  the  type 
of  physical  features. 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


17 


Cask  A 


FR 


VT 


Wk 


Case  B 

O  O  o   OO    O  <^( 


op   ^f  to   O 


'l 


'~l 


Case  G 

O  O  O   O  o 


\ 


Case  D 


£ 


o 

o  c 

^? 

Ga 

SE 

F 

9  '^ 

^  C 

rf 

\ 

-J 

- 

— 

r 

r 

F^ 


gasb  r 

Tl 


Case  ^.  Extraordinary  musical  talent.  Has  had  no  musical  training. 
Loves  good  music.  Would  have  been  encouraged  for  a 
musical  career  if  discovered  early  enough.    Boy  age  20. 

Case  B.  Poor  musical  talent.  Has  had  extensive  vocal  and  instrumen- 
tal training.  Intellectually  bright.  Advised  to  discontinue 
intensive  training  in  music. 

Case  C.  Lack  of  sense  of  pitch;  hence  also  poor  in  tonal  imagery,  tonal 
memory,  and  sense  of  consonance. 

Case  D.  Lack  of  time  sense.  Has  good  s»_.  ^  of  pitch.  Beautiful 
singer  aside  from  time.  Intellecu^Jly  keen.  Mingled 
feelings  in  regard  to  appreciation. 

Case  E.  Lack  of  tonal  imagery;  hence  also  memory  and  rhythm.  Good 
time  sense.  Intellectually  bright.  Does  not  care  for  music 
at  all. 


Case  F.      Good  musical  talent.    Sensitive  musical  temperament.    Lives 
in  music.    Shiftless  and  poor  in  other  studies. 


18  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 


Meaning  and  Use 

As  acquaintance  with  a  person  whose  photograph  one  sees 
gives  a  life  touch  to  the  bare  outline  of  the  features  suggested  on 
paper,  so  acquaintance  with  the  system  of  measurement,  bio- 
graphical and  professional  knowledge  of  the  individual,  and  com- 
mon sense  observation  arouse  through  the  chart  a  sense  of  re- 
lationship and  a  feeling  of  insight  which  tend  to  make  the  picture 
realistic  and  true. 

This  system  of  measurements,  if  it  may  be  called  a  system, 
is  unfortunately  not  adapted  for  general  use  by  musicians  them- 
selves. It  presupposes  a  techinque,  an  equipment,  and  a  skill  in 
psychological  analysis  which  the  musician  does  not  possess.  It 
requires  a  specialist  trained  in  music  and  psychology  and  will 
tend  to  open  a  new  profession — that  of  a  consulting  psychologist 
in  music.  Since  the  elaborate  measurements  will  be  made  only  on 
those  who  have  serious  aspirations  for  a  professional  career  in 
music,  many  will  not  be  needed;  but  laboratories  might  well  be 
maintained  in  a  few  of  the  principal  music  centers. 

The  function  of  such  a  laboratory  specialist  will  be  most 
varied  and  interesting.  His  primary  business  will,  of  course,  be 
to  take  inventories  of  individual  capacities  for  the  purpose  of 
vocational  guidance  of  a  highly  specialized  sort.  It  is  no  small 
matter  if  parents  can  take  a  twelve-year  old  son  or  daughter  into 
this  sort  of  laboratory  and  secure  a  chart  of  musical  talents. 
The  effort  and  expense  of  securing  such  an  inventory  is  insignificant 
in  comparison  with  the  cost  of  a  professional  musical  education. 
It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  value  of  such  an  inventory,  whether  it 
serves  the  purpose  of  encouragement  and  stimulus  of  good  talent 
or  serves  in  the  saving  of  one  who  has  serious  incapacity  for  some 
essential  part  of  the  Hf  e  work  which  might  have  been  blindly  entered. 
The  stake  at  such  a  time  is  not  primarily  dollars  and  cents,  but 
human  happiness  through  adaptation  to  a  life  work,  and  a  most 
wholesome  advancement  of  the  art. 

There  will  however  be  more  frequent  demand  for  service  to 
the  musician  who  has  encountered  some  serious  obstacle.  The 
psychologist  will  be  ready  with  tests  which  may  be  employed  in 
making  scientific  diagnosis  of  the  obstacle,  for  to  him  the  human 
organism  is  an  instrument — a  receiving  instrument  and  a  producing 
instrument.  He  believes  in  cause  and  effect,  just  as  the  oculist,  the 
aurist  and  the  mechanic  of  the  stalled  motor  car  do.  Exactly  what 
is  the  obstacle?    Can  it  be  repaired?    Will  a  substitute  do?    How 


The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent  19 

serious  is  it?  What  is  the  natural  thing  to  do?  The  discovery  and 
isolation  of  the  cause  of  the  trouble  is  the  first  logical  step  toward 
the  discovery  of  a  remedy.  We  see  the  coming  of  a  new  specialist. 
He  will  have  a  mission. 

This  inventory  also  serves  to  explain  experiences  of  the  past  which  may 
not  have  been  understood.  If  the  singer  has  had  defeat,  it  will  show 
exactly  why.  If  she  has  been  misguided  in  musical  training,  it  may  show 
the  nature  of  the  error  and  its  results.  If  the  singer  is  conscious  of  lack 
in  some  capacity,  the  record  shows  the  nature  of  this  lack,  and  may  even 
suggest  a  remedy,  if  such  there  is.  Even  among  the  best  musicians  it  is 
rare  to  find  one  who  does  not  have  some  kind  of  difficulty.  Indeed,  the 
difficulties  of  the  singer  are  unquestionably  great.  If  psychological 
measurement  can  lend  assistance  by  laying  bare  the  conditions  of  the 
difficulty  and  by  determining  its  nature  and  extent,  it  will  indeed  in  this 
respect  be  a  handmaid  of  music.  It  may  also  be  of  great  value  in  dis- 
covering new  singers  who  are  not  aware  of  their  genuine  ability. 

Another  effect  of  such  measurements  is  not  only  to  objectify  the 
elements  of  musical  appreciation  and  expression  so  as  to  deepen  the  in- 
sight of  the  expert,  the  teacher,  and  the  pupil,  but  also  to  shape  the 
science  and  art  of  music  as  the  scientific  conceptions  gradually  become 
known.  The  measurements  will  furnish  an  outline  for  the  psychology  of 
music.     (Psychology  in  Daily  Life,  p.  220) 

There  is,  however,  also  a  place  for  the  measurement  of  musical 
talent  outside  of  the  laboratory.  A  few  of  the  tests  may  be  made 
informally  in  the  conservatory.  The  principle  of  measurement 
may  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  teaching,  not  merely  for  diagnosis, 
but  also  as  a  means  of  training.  In  singing,  correction  of  pitch, 
timbre,  time,  etc.,  can  be  made  most  effectively  if  the  pupil 
practices  with  an  instrument  which  reveals  to  the  eye  of  the  singer 
the  exact  fault  or  merit  of  each  tone  produced.  The  tonoscope, 
(Psychol.  Rev.  Monog.  No.  69,  pp.  1-18)  e.  g.,  reveals  to  the  eye 
of  the  singer  the  actual  pitch  of  the  voice  to  a  hundredth  of  a  tone 
on  the  principle  of  moving  pictures,  and  the  pupil  trains  his  voice 
by  his  eye.  The  tone-analysis  does  the  same  for  timbre.  It 
throws  on  the  screen  a  picture  of  the  distribution  of  overtones. 
The  time  sense  apparatus  (Psychol.  Rev.  Monog.  No.  69,  pp. 
166-172)  does  the  same  for  time.  It  shows  in  detailed  graphic 
record  on  a  ticker  tape  the  rhythm  as  sung. 

But  there  is  a  far  larger  field,  in  the  elementary  schools. 
Certain  of  the  few  most  fundamental  tests  can  and  will  be  used  as 
as  group  tests,  for  the  purpose  of  a  rough  preliminary  sifting  in  the 
schoolroom.  This  will  reveal  the  unusually  bad  as  well  as  the 
unusually  good;  and  both  of  these  classes  deserve  individual 
treatment.     Such  tests  may  eliminate  the  helplessly  unmusical 


20  The  Measurement  of  Musical  Talent 

and  save  them  from  an  intolerable  imposition  of  musical  require- 
ments; but  their  real  value  is  in  finding  the  gold  in  the  dross.  One 
gifted  child  found  early,  investigated,  and  encouraged,  is  a  great 
reward. 

It  is  also  fortunate  that  this  principle  may  be  utilized  in  de- 
vising drill  exercises  in  music  instruction.  By  isolating  the  elements 
of  music  and  presenting  feature  after  feature  to  the  class,  the 
elements  of  musical  sounds  and  elements  of  human  musical  talents 
may  be  made  clear  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  training  conscious 
and  specific. 

In  brief,  talent  has  been  a  sort  of  mysterious  puzzle  to  teacher 
and  pupil  just  as  the  stars  were  to  ancient  man.  The  mystery  has 
not  been  cleared  or  made  simple;  but  scientific  psychology  has 
given  us  an  approach,  a  tool,  a  vision.  This  in  no  way  dispels  the 
art  attitude,  but  rather  enhances  it.  The  mere  artist  views  talent 
as  we  view  the  starlit  heavens  on  a  moonlight  stroll;  the  one  who 
begins  to  control  conditions,  to  employ  instruments,  and  to  apply 
scientific  principles  (inductive  and  deductive)  and  measures,  views 
human  talents  as  the  astronomer  views  the  heavenly  bodies. 
The  astronomer  magnifies  distances,  intensifies  illuminations, 
analyzes  the  atmospheres,  reviews  the  records  of  ages,  trusts  his 
instruments  and  gives  wings  to  scientific  imagination;  he  measures, 
predicts,  and  explains;  and  with  it  all  his  visible  universe  grows 
larger,  more  orderly,  and  more  sublime.  He  brings  order  out  of 
chaos,  breaks  the  mad  spell  of  those  believing  themselves  to  be 
under  their  fateful  infiuences,  and  sets  aglow  the  imagination  of 
those  who  love  the  stars.  The  expert  in  the  measurement  of 
human  talents  has  similar  opportunities.  The  stars  form  a  macro- 
cosm; the  powers  of  the  human  mind  are  a  microcosm.  Both  are 
orderly.  Astronomy  is  old;  the  science  of  the  human  mind  is 
barely  coming  into  existence.  The  psychology  of  music  is  a  new 
field,  quite  unworked,  but  full  of  promise  and  fascinating  possi- 
bilities. Knowledge  of  self  comes  after  knowledge  of  things,  but 
is  none  the  less  valuable  and  interesting.  Applied  knowledge  of 
self  comes  later  still.  In  the  survey  of  natural  resources  character- 
istic of  the  conservation  movement  of  the  day,  the  survey  of 
natural  resources  in  the  shape  of  human  talents  is  most  promising. 


14  DAY  USE 

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